Alternate Chronicles: The Holy Armored Rider
by Drago3511
Summary: In a parallel universe to the Sentai and Rider universe, Sean Sky has moved to Zawame City and is the leader of Team Holy Flare. When he puts on his Sengoku Driver and grabs his Red Apple Lockseed, he transforms into Armored Rider Apollo! Will he fight Yggdrasil alongside Kouta? Rated T for language, blood, and action. Sean x OC
1. Henshin, The Holy Rider Takes The Stage!

"Hey guys, Drago3511 here. I've been doing a bit of collab work with my pal Psycho Sin Mafia lately, and it has given fruit, no pun intended for this. It is time to start the Alternate Chronicles!"

"Our first Alternate Chronicles story takes place in the world of Kamen Rider Gaim. Here, Sean Sky is an American teen who has moved to Zawame City due to it's rise to power in Japan, and his parents have been transferred to a sub-company owned by Yggdrasil. He will make new friends in the form of a Beat Rider team, known as Team Holy Flare, and be appointed as their leader."

"So for all you Kamen Rider fans out there, get ready for the birth... of Armored Rider Apollo!"

"I do not own Kamen Rider, it belongs to Toei Japan. I only own Sean Sky and all OC characters, including Team Holy Flare. I also own/co-own all original Lockseeds used in this fanfic. Now let's get On Stage!"

**HENSHIN!**

* * *

It's been about a month now since my family and I have moved to Zawame City, Japan. In that time, I've gotten adjusted to the language and customs of the country, as well as setting into my new home and school.

Things sure have been different since I moved here from the States. Saying goodbye to Lucas, Doran, Elias, my relatives, and the others was tough, but I keep in touch with them through email and video chat. Thankfully since my parents got transferred to a profitable business, we have been able to afford a nice home with a good sized backyard for our dog.

Wait, I haven't even introduced myself yet. Gomen. My name is Sean Sky, I'm 17 years old and 6'3" tall. I have brown hair that is slightly shaggy and swept to the right to keep it out of my ocean-blue eyes. I'm usually seen wearing brown cargo pants being held up by a white and gold sash, white boots, a white t-shirt with an 8-point star on it, and a red and white jacket that has the same star on the back with the words "Holy Flare" above and below it respectively.

Another thing I forgot to mention, I'm the leader of the Beat Rider team, Holy Flare. Beat Riders are groups of people who like to dance for the public and have stages permitted by the city, kind of like territories. I was never much into dancing before, but all of that changed when I met my first friend in Zawame. His name was Taku Orimusha.

Nicknamed "Otaku" because of his love for all things fiction, manga, anime, video games, you name it. His only other passion was to dance for people and make them happy. He was an average looking guy, 5'7", black hair combed neatly, wore glasses, average build. Friendly guy once you get to know him. He's the whole reason I got into dancing in the streets.

He and I decided to form a Beat Rider team together, and we slowly got more and more members as the month went on. Sure, we aren't a top ranking team like Baron, but we're doing better than other teams like Raid Wild. Speaking of which, I'm late for the team meeting!

I grabbed my bag and ran out the door, stopping only to lock up on my way out. It was a Sunday, so I didn't have to attend school, plus my parents are at work. But that's besides the point. I bolted through the city for a good while, stopping every now and then to catch my breath. Eventually, I made it to our team hideout, and everyone was waiting for me.

It's a nice place, for an abandoned record store. A little elbow grease and some furniture, and the place looked like new. Plus, we found some of the old records in the back and a turn-table.

"Hey guys, gomen. I lost track of time." I explained, walking into the place.

"Ah, don't sweat it. We just got here a few minutes ago." Otaku said, walking up to me and bumping my first.

"Glad to hear it. I seriously thought Rin was gonna chew me out for being late again." I sighed.

Oh yeah, Rin Kawazawa was the third member of our team. Bleach-blonde hair tied up in the back in a stylish ponytail and frayed bangs swept to the left, curving back to the right near her cheek, black eyes with a bit of eyeliner to make them more defined, our team jacket, a white and gold vest that's always zipped up, black pants with a yellow belt hanging on her right hip, and white and yellow sneakers. She's got a real attitude, but she sure knows how to light up the dance floor.

"And who said I wasn't, baka?" came the familiar, sharp voice of said girl. She came walking out of the back without her jacket on, showing off her slender arms... wait, what?

"Oh, hey Rin... what's shakin?" I slowly asked. She glared fiercely at me and walked over to where I was standing. Taku gulped and stepped back, knowing not to interfere when Rin went into "Death Mode". Finally getting within three inches of my personal space, Rin yanked on my ear and pulled me along with her.

"Itte! Rin, that hurts, cut it out!" I panicked, almost certain I felt my earlobe expanding.

"Seriously Sean, you're our leader. How can we expect to take this seriously and raise our ranking if you're never on time?" I admit, she had a point.

"Okay, you've got me there, but I have a serious explanation this time!" I shouted. Rin finally let go of my ear, letting my rub said body part softly. We were in the back of the shop, which was wide enough to double as our hangout and practice area to dance. Inside were the rest of our team members, who were watching the interaction like they always do. Honestly, one of these days I'm going to find one of them eating a bag of popcorn while Rin and I are talking.

"Really? Then please, do tell."

I reached for my bag behind me and put it on the floor. I knelt down to unzip it and remove its components, quite precious components to be precise.

"Since I was appointed with this duty because almost no one else would do it, I was keeping inventory of our Lockseeds in case we ran into an Inves Game today." I said, pulling out a few Lockseeds. There weren't many, seeing as we only had four. Two Himawari, one Kurumi, and one Almond. Recently, the Inves Game has become a big thing among Beat Riders and is the secondary way to increase their team ranking. However, two teams have recently found a way to make the Inves Game tilt more to their favor... Team Gaim and Team Baron.

"Honestly, I don't see why you even bother with those things. We're only able to beat weaker teams like Invitto, Raid Wild, and Red Hot. We're lucky we aren't high up in the rankings, otherwise Baron would come after us and beat us into the ground! Thankfully, we're on good terms with Team Gaim and agreed not to try and take their stage. Especially since both Gaim and Baron bypassed the Ives Game with their Armored Riders. They're like the Kamen Riders of Zawame City." Taku piped in. I just noticed now that he joined us in the back after Rin dragged me off.

That's right, Kamen Riders. They haven't truly been confirmed to exist, but they're supposed to be masked heroes who fight for the weak and innocent against evil all across Japan. Taku's been following his dad's findings on Kamen Riders since sightings of them have appeared in the 1970's. Some people have supposedly gotten pictures and footage of them and put it online. The last sighting was supposed to be of one who could use magic.

"Trust me Taku, as far as Baron goes, he's anything _but_ the definition of a Kamen Rider." Another of our team members, Manny, replied.

Like me, Manny also moved here from the US. He's two years my junior, but I found a friend in him after a while. Since he moved here and enlisted into my school, Taku and I thought it would be a good idea to have him on the team, both for my sake as a fellow American, and for the team to increase our numbers. Aside from me and Taku, he's the only other one decent at handling the Lockseeds. Taku also got him into the Kamen Rider conspiracy.

"Kamen Riders aside, I say we just stick to dancing. If we DO need to resort to the Inves Game, we're relying on you three." Rin spoke, pointing to me, Otaku, and Manny.

"Yes ma'am. Now, let's get down to practicing!" I declared, raising my fist in the air.

_**"YEAH!**_

* * *

After an hour of practice, we all decided to head back home for the day. I decided to walk back with Manny to discuss some things about home, but we stopped by Drupers for a smoothie first. The owner, Bando, makes some of the best fruit drinks this side of Japan.

"So I take it your sister isn't much into the whole Inves thing, huh?" I asked him, taking a sip of my apple and starfruit smoothie.

"Nope. She doesn't mind it, but she'd also rather not have me messing around with them now that the Armored Riders have shown up. She's seen the footage of Baron going postal on some of the other teams." Manny replied, plucking out an orange wedge from the side of his glass and chewing on it.

"Hey, Allie's just trying to look out for your safety. As strong as she comes off, she does care about you."

"Yeah yeah, blood is thicker than water and all that stuff." He sighed, chugging down the last of his smoothie, but not before getting an undesired after effect. "Argh, brain freeze!"

"Hahaha! This is why we don't chug frozen treats, Manny." I laughed.

"Screw you." He chuckled back.

The bell went off in the store, signaling someone had walked in or out through the door. I turned around and saw that someone, did indeed walk in. I couldn't mistake that bowler hat or that tug-case anywhere else. Lockdealer Sid. He's one of the few guys who walks around Zawame and provides Beat Riders with their Lockseeds. He just so happened to prefer setting up shop in the back room of Drupers.

"Hey, isn't that..." Manny trailed off as I got up from my seat and followed the older man into the back room.

When I walked in, he had already sat down with a tablet in hand. But what really got my attention was a dark-navy blue device with a yellow plastic blade protruding from it laying on the table with a Lockseed with a red apple next to it.

"Well, well. Just who I wanted to see. Welcome, leader of Team Holy Flare." Sid muttered, not even bothering to look up from his tablet.

"What do you mean, Sid? Why would you be looking for me?" I inquired. Manny finally caught up to me after getting over his cranial frost. He looked down at the table and went wide-eyed, making sure I was seeing what he did.

"Sean, that's-"

"A Sengoku Driver, with a lone Lockseed." Sid finished for him.

I glared at the Lockdealer and spat out with venom in my voice.

"What's your angle, Sid? Why do you want to give this to us?"

He finally looked up from his tablet with a look of mock-hurt on his face.

"My my, someone's sure angry. Can't I help someone out of the goodness of my heart? I noticed that you guys haven't been faring so well in the Inves Game, so I figured I could provide a little edge."

"Free of charge?" I questioned, at which he just chuckled.

"I never said anything about 'free'. In exchange for the Sengoku Driver and Red Apple Lockseed, I require you hand over all the Lockseeds in your possession, and any that you win from other teams until I say that you've payed it off." He said with a smirk.

I growled at him. He was expecting us to turn over four Locks, plus any that we win for who knows how long, just for a singe Lockseed and this... Sengoku Driver? Oh, I hope I won't regret this.

"Fine, you've got a deal Sid." I said, placing the four Lockseeds on his side of the table.

"Sean, you can't be serious!" Manny exclaimed.

"What choice do we have? If we don't step up our game, it's only a matter of time before Baron comes for us next. We need to be on equal ground if we want to stand a chance."

"Smart boy." Sid said, as he took the four Lockseeds and put them in his case. "I'd say a good A rank Lock, or a couple B and C rank Locks should be enough to cover the costs."

"Expect us back here by next Sunday with your payment." I growled, snatching the Driver and Lockseed from the table. Just as I did that, my cellphone went off. I grabbed it from my pocket, caller ID indicating that it was Rin. Odd, she rarely ever calls unless it's an emergency. I hit the answer button and put it up to my ear.

"Rin, what's up?"

_*Sean, you need to get over to the stage NOW!*_ Okay, something must have happened if she's freaking out.

"Okay, calm down. What's goin on?"

_*It's Baron! They came for our stage!* _Wait, did I hear that right!? Baron came for our stage? But why?!

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as possible!" I hung up and bolted out of the shop, Manny following close behind.

"Sean, what happened? What did Rin call for?"

"Baron's challenging the stage! Knowing them, they're going to want to use their Armored Rider for an Inves Game instead a dance off!" I yelled back to him, not bothering to look back as we kept running.

"What?! But why would Baron come for us? We're only ranked 6th!"

"You got me, but we need to get there fast if we want to get there in time."

'Rin, please stall him as long as you can.' I thought to myself.

* * *

**(5 minutes later: Team Holy Flare's stage)**

It wasn't long before we finally got to the stage. There was a large crowd of people who were most likely gathered when they heard Baron had arrived, not surprising there since they were the number one ranked team among the Beat Riders.

I saw Rin standing on the stage with Otaku and... was that Manny's sister? The hell was she doing with them? Doesn't matter now though. In front of them were a bunch of guys in matching black pinstripe suits with maroon highlights, in the front was Kaito Kumon, leader of Team Baron.

Manny and I were able to shuffle around the crowd and finally make it to the stage, where this conversation was taking place.

"If your leader doesn't show up soon, Baron will claim your stage by forfeit." Kaito said calmly, yet with some kind of smug undertone.

"Looking for me?" I asked, catching everyone's attention.

"Sean!" Rin and Taku cheered.

"Manny, there you are!" Allie called, at which Manny cringed. Oh boy.

"Allie, what are you doing here?" He asked her.

I heard that another team was coming to take a stage, but I didn't think it would be Baron coming to take YOUR stage!" That's right, Allie likes to keep up with the Beat Rider Hotline, and she knows all about the Armored Riders. Especially Baron.

"Well, it looks like you showed up after all. I almost thought you were too scared to face me yourself." Kaito taunted calmly. Seriously, what is with this guy?

"Sorry about that, I was just picking up a new item. Something I assume that you're familiar with." I stated, holding up the Sengoku Driver in one hand. The crowd and my team, aside from Manny, gasped. Kaito narrowed his eyes at me and silently got out his own Sengoku Driver. He placed it against his waist, where a yellow belt materialized around his waist. Then he pulled out a single Lockseed, the Banana Lockseed.

"Henshin." and he pushed the button on the side to unlock it.

**BANANA!**

A circular zipper appeared above him and un-zipped, lowering down a metalic banana from a portal in the sky before zipping back up and closing. He then placed the Lockseed on the Driver and placed the lock back into place.

**LOCK ON!**

Trumpet music then began to play shortly, before turning into an entire orchestral tune. He brought the blade of the belt down on the Lockseed, 'slicing' it open.

**COME ON!**

The banana dropped onto his head, covering his body in a red suit of some kind. The banana then unfolded to make chest ans shoulder armor, and his helmet had banana-style horns. He also carried a spear that looked like a peeled banana.

**BANANA ARMS!**

**KNIGHT OF SPEAR!**

Kaito had transformed into Armored Rider Baron: Banana Arms.

I looked at the Driver in my hand before mimicking what Kaito did, bringing it to my waist and feeling the belt form around it. There was another glow from the belt and I looked to the left, seeing a faceplate of some kind with a side-glance of a helmet appear. Deciding to ignore it, I grabbed my new, and now only Lockseed from my pocket.

"Sean, I don't know where you got that thing, but that doesn't matter right now. Beat that jerk and show him what Team Holy Flare is made of!" Rin yelled at me with determination. I chuckled a bit and nodded to her.

"Sure thing Rin, I got this." I brought the Lockseed up and held it so that my thumb was on the button.

"Hey Taku, I think you might be onto something with your research after all. Because you're about to witness the birth of a brand new Rider."

"Sean..." Otaku muttered.

"Henshin!" I yelled and pressed the button on the side of the Lockseed, promptly opening it.

**RED APPLE!**

I heard the unzipping sound and looked up to see a metalic red apple hover down out of the sky portal. Thinking quickly, I placed the Lock into the Driver and locked it shut.

**LOCK ON!**

The same trumpet and orchestral tune began to echo around the area. At any other time, I would have complained about having the same tune as Kaito, but now wasn't the time. I grabbed the blade of the Driver and 'sliced' the Lockseed open.

**COME ON!**

The apple dropped onto my head, forming my own suit around me. I couldn't see jack because the giant apple was obscuring my view, but I felt a helmet form around my head, and I heard something sliding and locking into place, which was the ornament to my helmet.

The apple finally unfolded, forming chest and shoulder armor. In my hand was a sword, possibly a short sword in the style of an apple slice.

**RED APPLE ARMS!**

**GUARDIAN OF LIFE!**

I looked over to the right, which I was thankful for, because I could see my reflection in the window of the building next to the stage. I was in a red suit, similar to Baron's, except all of the silver armor parts and chest chainmail were gold instead of silver. The apple folded down to provide red armor in the form of a breastplate and shoulder guards. I had the helmet of some kind of royal knight from one of Taku's RPGs, which was a red helmet with a gold mouthpiece and silver mask, save for two slanted eye-holes that were a pale-whitish beige color, and there were horns that jutted out of the side that looked like apple slices.

All in all, I kind of looked like an apple-themed knight, just without a cape.

I looked back over to Baron and pointed my weapon at him, which felt very natural for some reason.

"You won't be claiming this stage today, Baron. As the leader of Team Holy Flare, I will defend my team, and my stage from people like you. So prepare to feel the wrath... of Armored Rider Apollo!"

* * *

"Alright guys, gonna leave it there for now for the pilot chapter. This is the first time I've really written a Kamen Rider fic, but I've been keeping up with Gaim since episode one, so I hope I did well in getting Sid and Kaito's personalities down proper."

"I was able to get this started because of my collaborator, Psycho Sin Mafia. Check out his stories when you get the chance, particularly the Accidental Gokai Change, if you're also into Gokaiger and Super Sentai."

"For the first time in a long ass time, I'm going to be doing bios for all of the OC's that have appeared in this chapter. Since I have more than two this time, I think it'll turn out better."

**Team Holy Flare**

Sean Sky

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Occupation: Leader/Armored Rider

Likes: Dancing, Team Holy Flare, Team Gaim, his family, animals, and Drupers smoothies

Dislikes: Bullies, snobs, abusers, tomatoes, and cauliflower.

* * *

Taku "Otaku" Orimusha

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Occupation: Researcher, second in command

Likes: Dancing, Team Holy Flare anime, manga, video games, Kamen Riders, and takoyaki

Dislikes: Gangsters, needles, snakes, and guns.

* * *

Rin Kawazawa

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Occupation: Lead dancer, coach

Likes: Dancing, Team Holy Flare, kittens and puppies (secretly), and melon soda

Dislikes: Team Baron, Inves, Sid, and animal abusers

* * *

Manuel "Manny" Sanchez

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Occupation: Backup dancer

Likes: Team Holy Flare, Kamen Riders, his friends, and video games

Dislikes: People who insult him, and Kaito

* * *

**Others**

Alesandra "Allie" Sanchez

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Occupation: Older Sister

Likes: Drawing, friends, and her brother

Dislikes: Team Baron and Inves


	2. Clash, The Apple Sword & Banana Spear!

"Hey guys, Drago3511 here. I'm proud to bring you chapter 2 of The Holy Armored Rider! Along with my Super Sentai fanfic, "Enter GokaiBlack!", this is one of my recent stories that is drawing in a lot of views and favorites. I'm hard at work collabing with a group of authors right now, known as Psycho Sin Mafia, koolken256, urufushinigami, and GreyKing46. So that would be my excuse for the lack of updates in the past couple weeks. If you haven't heard of any of these authors, check out their work."

Manny: "Yeah, well we forgive you this time. Just let us know when you won't be updating for a while."

"Right, right. Hey, since you're already here... I'm appointing you to do the disclaimer for this chapter."

Manny: "WHAT?! WHY ME?!"

"Because: A, Sean's in the middle of a fight, B, you're already here, and C, I didn't have anyone picked out for the job yet."

Manny: "I hate you sometimes... but whatever. Drago3511 does NOT own Kamen Rider Gaim, or the Kamen Rider franchise in general. Those belong to Toei. He owns his OC's and co-owns most of the original Lockseeds in this story with Psycho Sin Mafia, Red Apple being his only created one at the time. He also owns the Armored Rider suit known as Apollo."

"Thanks Manny, now get out there and watch your friend kick some banana-ass!"

* * *

**_(Last time: on The Holy Armored Rider)_**

**_"Henshin!" I yelled and pressed the button on the side of the Lockseed, promptly opening it._**

**_RED APPLE!_**

**_I heard the unzipping sound and looked up to see a metalic red apple hover down out of the sky portal. Thinking quickly, I placed the Lock into the Driver and locked it shut._**

**_LOCK ON!_**

**_The same trumpet and orchestral tune began to echo around the area. At any other time, I would have complained about having the same tune as Kaito, but now wasn't the time. I grabbed the blade of the Driver and 'sliced' the Lockseed open._**

**_COME ON!_**

**_The apple dropped onto my head, forming my own suit around me. I couldn't see jack because the giant apple was obscuring my view, but I felt a helmet form around my head, and I heard something sliding and locking into place, which was the ornament to my helmet._**

**_The apple finally unfolded, forming chest and shoulder armor. In my hand was a sword, possibly a short sword in the style of an apple slice._**

**_RED APPLE ARMS!_**

**_GUARDIAN OF LIFE!_**

**_I looked over to the right, which I was thankful for, because I could see my reflection in the window of the building next to the stage. I was in a red suit, similar to Baron's, except all of the silver armor parts and chest chainmail were gold instead of silver. The apple folded down to provide red armor in the form of a breastplate and shoulder guards. I had the helmet of some kind of royal knight from one of Taku's RPGs, which was a red helmet with a gold mouthpiece and silver mask, save for two slanted eye-holes that were a pale-whitish beige color, and there were horns that jutted out of the side that looked like apple slices._**

_**All in all, I kind of looked like an apple-themed knight, just without a cape.**_

**_I looked back over to Baron and pointed my weapon at him, which felt very natural for some reason._**

**_"You won't be claiming this stage today, Baron. As the leader of Team Holy Flare, I will defend my team, and my stage from people like you. So prepare to feel the wrath... of Armored Rider Apollo!"_**

* * *

**(Now: on Team Holy Flare's stage)**

"Apollo, you say... interesting" Baron scoffed and raised his Banaspear to his foe. "You claim the name of a God, but can you live up to such a powerful name, I wonder?"

Apollo only tightened the grip on his blade, which is known as the Apple Dicer. His shoulders and legs tensed, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"There's only one way to find out." He stated, leveling his weapon with caution. Sean had very little practical battle experience. In fact, the only real fighting styles he had under his belt were makeshift swordplay, combined with self-taught kendo, and a rusty memory of karate and tae kwon do from when he was younger.

Kaito may not have had his Driver for very long, but he carried himself with much power and confidence, wielding his spear almost like a trained soldier.

"Yes, there is." Kaito agreed with him, and then charged at the new Armored Rider to hit the streets... quite literally at the moment. Apollo attempted to block and counter a thrust sent by Baron, but the blow was stronger than he anticipated, and he landed harshly on his back with a _THUD._

"ARGH!"

"Sean-kun!" Rin called out, ready to run in and help him up.

"No, stay back!" Apollo yelled, slowly getting back up to his feet. "Damn, that was a strong blow. You really can walk the walk, Kaito-teme!"

Baron gazed in the direction of the ascending Rider and lifted his weapon onto his shoulder.

"Oh, so you're still up. Maybe you'll make this interesting for me after all."

"Hey, it'll take more than a simple jab to keep me down." He commented, swiping the area of his helmet where his nose would have been with his thumb. "Now, let's get serious!"

With that said, Apollo charged at his opponent, Dicer armed in his right hand, his left hand parallel to his chest. He jumped up into the air, and brought the weapon down on Baron's Banaspear with one hand, causing a harsh collision to ring through the air. Sparks flew as the weapons scraped against each other, due to the force behind Sean's attack.

Baron initially blocked the attack with one hand, but with the added weight of the Armored Rider wielding it crashing down, he planted his feet firmly and carried the weight of his weapon with both hands to block the strike.

"I see, you're not just all bark. A wolf in dog's fur." Baron commented, keeping his cool even under pressure **(no pun intended)**.

"Well this wolf is about to bear it's fangs!" Apollo roared, adding more pressure to his attack, making Baron's feet start to buckle under the pressure of his attack.

Seeing no other choice, Baron forced the other red Rider off of him by shoving his spear against Apollo's sword and parrying the attack, knocking Apollo back a foot or so. He landed on his feet and stared down the Banana Arms user, preparing to read his next attack.

* * *

**(Meanwhile, watching the fight go down)**

Rin was watching the entire exchange between their leader and Kaito Kumon, aka Baron. She can't say she wasn't surprised when she saw him don the Sengoku Driver and become an Armored Rider, quite the opposite really. But this wasn't an Inves Game, it was an actual fight that he could get hurt in. He was risking his own safety just so they could keep the stage.

"That baka... tomare... tomare..." She muttered to herself, her knees finally gave way and she slid onto the floor. Her hair covered her eyes and you could see her shaking.

"Rin-san... dijobu desu ka?" Taku asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hottoi te kure!" Rin snapped at him, causing Taku to back off in surprise. She just sat there and watched Sean fight against Kaito, and it was at a stalemate. Whenever one of them seemed to get an advantage, the other bounced back and clashed weapons once more.

Rin just couldn't understand. Why was he doing this?

"We can always find another stage from one of the weaker teams... he doesn't have to fight like this..."

Apollo and Baron clashed weapons once more.

"Tomare..."

Baron parried Apollo's strike and slashed at him with the tip of his spear.

"Tomare."

Apollo skidded back a few inches, but charged once more and slugged Baron in the face.

**"TOMARE!"**

_SMACK_

Rin was pulled up and slapped in the face... by Allie?!

Rin's eyes went wide at the sudden sensation as a red palm-shaped mark crept it's way onto her face. Alesandra just stared fiercely at the only other female among the group.

"A-Allie? Naze..." Rin stuttered.

"The hell is wrong with you?" She growled at Rin.

"Eh?"

"Look!" She shouted and pointed to where the two Armored Riders were duking it out. "He's fighting to protect your stage, and all you can do is cry and ask yourself why he's fighting?! He's doing it for you, for the team! So what if you could get another stage?! This is the stage you guys have had since the day you all came together, isn't it?" Allie yelled at Rin, making her eyes go wide.

Rin looked back once more to see Apollo starting to gain a bit more ground, but Baron was still holding strong.

"This place is special to him. Like me an Manny, he's a foreigner, an outsider. He still has friends and family back in America that he misses dearly, I can see it in his eyes. But here, this stage, Team Holy Flare's stage... it's where he can just let go and be happy."

Apollo slashed at Baron, causing sparks to fly off of his armor.

"His parents are always away at work, he only gets to see them for a couple hours per day."

Apollo successfully blocked one of Baron's attacks and brushed it aside.

"The team is like a second family to him. I know it is, because it's the same way for Manny. This team has made the both of them happy, and this stage is their home... just like it is yours too!"

Baron backed away and grabbed the small blade lever on his belt.

"If this place means a single damn thing to you, then stand up and cheer your idiot leader on!"

And he slashed his Lockseed once.

**COME ON!**

**BANANA SQUASH!**

Rin's eyes steeled, and Allie grinned, releasing her jacket. Rin brushed herself off and turned to the fight. Baron was gathering energy into his spear at the very moment.

"Sean, no... Apollo! Ganbare!" Rin called to him, catching his attention. Taku and Manny looked to each other and nodded, following their coach's example.

"APOLLO, GANBARE!"

Apollo looked back to his teammates and nodded, turning to Baron and slashing his own belt once.

**COME ON!**

**RED APPLE SQUASH!**

The Apple Dicer started to glow a pale yellow-white and red combination, charging up an attack of its own.

_**"Spear Victory!"** _Baron yelled and thrusted his weapon at Apollo. A giant energy-banana shot forward from the spear, closing in fast.

_**"Dicer Shine!"** _Apollo called out the name of his Hissatsu attack, slashing his sword in a vertical arc. The arc projected as a wave of energy that took the form of an apple slice. The two attacks collided, and they caught in another stalemate!

_**"I'm not done yet!"** _Apollo let loose a few more waves of his weapon, and more waves of energy added onto the initial attack. The apple slices seemed to be adding onto each other, until it was a giant red apple pushing against the banana. That was, until the pressure of the combined attacks and canceled out Baron's Spear Victory, and kept on pushing forward and ensnared Baron inside of the apple.

"Nani?!" He called out, unable to move in the red energy fruit.

_**"MAXIMUM FLARE!"**_Apollo jumped up and brought his Apple Dicer down on his own attack, AND THROUGH BARON! Apple slices shot into the air and disappeared.

Baron's armor sparked for a bit before he stumbled back. He closed the Lockseed on his Driver quickly and his armor disappeared, revealing Kaito. He was panting heavily and clutched his side tightly.

Apollo panted heavily himself and closed the Lockseed on his Sengoku Driver, undoing the transformation as well. When the armor disappeared, Sean was revealed to be sweating slightly, and he was hunched over.

He looked up at Kaito with squinted eyes and did a pained chuckle.

"Heh, looks like... I... wi...n..." Was all he got out, before Sean collapsed on the ground.

"SEAN!" The guys called out.

"Sean-kun!" Rin cried and ran over to him, along with the other three.

Kaito looked at the young man and smirked, before turning around and walking away.

"Come, we'll be leaving this stage alone for the time being." Kaito told his crew, who didn't understand what quite happened, but complied and followed him back nonetheless.

_'You are an interesting one, Sean Sky of Holy Flare. Perhaps you have what it takes to take that power and become stronger.'_

As Team Baron walked away, the three members of Holy Flare plus one sibling gathered around Sean and hefted him up on his feet. He managed to crack one eye open and look at the others. He left out a soft smile, knowing that he had worried them just a moment ago. He may not have showed it, especially because every other muscle in his entire body ached, but he was paying attention to Rin's outburst and Allie's speech. He'll admit it was tough, but it showed that Rin truly did care, and have a heart as bright as the sun underneath her ice-cold exterior.

"Rin, gomenasai." He muttered.

She looked at him worriedly, but smiled all the same.

"Tadaima, Rin."

"Baka... okaeri."

The two just stood there in silence, as a lone tear fell down Rin's face. This caught Sean's attention for only a moment.

"Okay you two, enough with the mushy crap!" Manny interrupted them, catching the two off guard.

"Yeah, we need to get Sean back to the shop and patch him up." Taku mentioned as well.

Both Sean and Rin nodded, albeit in a pained motion for Sean.

"Yeah, every nerve in my body is crying out right now for something soft to lay down on." Sean chuckled.

"Well it's your own stupid fault for pulling that stunt in the first place." Rin scoffed, returing to her usual tsundere persona.

"Hai, hai." He waved off, being lifted up by Manny and Taku. "Let's just get back already, there's a couch and a can of melon soda with my name written on both of them."

* * *

**(Yggdrasil Corporation)**

"So, you've delivered another Sengoku Driver." A man in a black suit spoke out. He had semi-long black hair that reached his jaw, but it was combed neatly so that it didn't get into his eyes. This was Takatora Kureshima, and he was currently speaking to none other than the resident Lock Dealer, Sid.

"Yeah, I did. I got a few Lockseeds back in the process for the good professor to work on, and am currently awaiting more." Sid spoke with his usual tone.

"A trade then. In exchange for the Driver and Lockseed, you requested more Lockseeds in return. I take it they are to help in the progress of Project Genesis." Takatora implied. Sid put his hands up in the air and put on a mock-look of surprise.

"You got me, Director. I was helping in the advance of the new project. However, it's still in the earliest stages until we can distribute the remaining Sengoku Drivers and start obtaining more data on our little "volunteers"." Sid smirked.

"What's your game, Sid? Usually you wouldn't pull something like this unless there was something to gain from it."

"Again, you got me. In return for helping to kickstart the Genesis Project, I want to be one of the people who get the finished product."

Takatora glared at Sid for a moment, staring coldly at the devilish smirk that was glazed onto his face.

"Just keep handing out Lockseeds, as you were told. I'll consider your proposition, for the time being."

"Oh, but of course... Director Kureshima."

"And one more thing, before you go."

Sid looked back at the director, who was once again glaring at him.

"Keep an eye on the Sky boy's family. They may work for Yggdrasil, but if they find out how he got a hold of the Sengoku Driver, we may just have to start questioning their loyalties. They were put into a different wing of Yggdrasil for a reason... outsiders can't exactly be trusted right away."

Sid smirked once more and adjusted his bowler hat before grabbing his tote-chest and walking away.

* * *

"Okay guys, that's a wrap on this chapter. I wanted to get this done and out as soon as possible, but I also didn't want to drag it out longer than necessary."

"So, Sean beat Kaito in their little fight, showing he does have potential if given the right motivation and pushed in that direction. We also got to see a bit of character development with Rin, who may seem like a cruel and careless girl at first, but she does have a soft spot for our brunette protagonist and worries about his safety."

"Also, I did decide to use some Japanese in this chapter, wanting to expand my vocabulary a bit and work on my self-taught Japanese. Translations are as follows:

tomare = stop

daijobu desu ka? = are you okay?

hottoi te kure = leave me alone

naze? = why?

ganbare = you can do it

nani? = what?

gomenasai = I'm sorry

tadaima = I'm home

okaeri = welcome home

baka = idiot/stupid (if you guys didn't know already)

"Anyway, that's Chapter 2. Feel free to leave a review, and I'll catch you all next time for Chapter 3 of The Holy Armored Rider!"

* * *

**(Sneak peak at my Multiverse Chronicles/Fire Emblem Awakening crossover)**

_"Elias, protect the girl! Lucas, Jean, you're with me!" Sean called out._

_..._

_"Who are you four?" A man with blue hair, blue clothing, a silver shoulder guard, a white cape, and a sword asked. There was some kind of birthmark on his right shoulder._

_"I'm Sean Sky-Uchiha, this is Lucas Typhoon, Elias Frost-Kazama, and Jean Prismdrillz."_

_"Thank you for the assistance, my name is Chrom."_

_..._

_"Shepherds?" Jean asked. __"You guys tend to sheep... in full armor?"_

_"Hey, it's a lot tougher of a job than you think." Lissa explained._

_..._

_"Meet the new Shepherds! Robin, Sean, Elias, Lucas, and Jean!" Lissa announced._

_..._

_"Let's put these Risen away, boys!" Sean called, pulling out his Mobirates. Lucas clashed his fists together, causing them to spark with lightning. Elias coated his arms in ice, forming ice-claws, and Jean started to manipulate the air around his hands to form wind-drills._

_"Shepherds, to arms!" Chrom commanded._

_"Everyone, get in position!" Robin ordered._

_"Gokai Change!"_


	3. Ryugen, Grape Dragon and Dragon Bombs!

"Hey guys, Drago3511 here. It's time for the third chapter of The Holy Armored Rider! Sorry it has been taking so long... been having a case of writer's block... and I've been having to deal with school. Gaim has come to an end for us Kamen Rider fans, allowing us to welcome Drive into the Heisei Rider era. But that doesn't mean that those of us who love Gaim fics will stop reading or writing them! Now, for the disclaimer portion... I have none other than the head coach of Team Holy Flare, Rin Kawazawa!"

Rin: "This better be worth it. I have to get back to practice as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, this won't take but a minute. I just need you to say your lines, and then you can leave."

Rin: "Really?"

"Cross my heart."

Rin: "Alright, I guess. Drago3511 does NOT own Kamen Rider Gaim, or the Kamen Rider franchise in general. Those belong to Toei. He owns his OC's and co-owns most of the original Lockseeds in this story with Psycho Sin Mafia, Red Apple being his only created one at the time. He also owns the Armored Rider suit known as Apollo."

"See? That didn't take long at all. Now, you're relieved of your duties and we can get to the chapter! Here's your pay, one melon soda."

Rin: "Thanks. Now to get back to my team."

* * *

**_(Last time: on The Holy Armored Rider)_**

_**"Tadaima, Rin."**_

_**"Baka... okaeri."**_

_**The two just stood there in silence, as a lone tear fell down Rin's face. This caught Sean's attention for only a moment.**_

_**"Okay you two, enough with the mushy crap!" Manny interrupted them, catching the two off guard.**_

_**"Yeah, we need to get Sean back to the shop and patch him up." Taku mentioned as well.**_

_**Both Sean and Rin nodded, albeit in a pained motion for Sean.**_

_**"Yeah, every nerve in my body is crying out right now for something soft to lay down on." Sean chuckled.**_

_**"Well it's your own stupid fault for pulling that stunt in the first place." Rin scoffed, returing to her usual tsundere persona.**_

_**"Hai, hai." He waved off, being lifted up by Manny and Taku. "Let's just get back already, there's a couch and a can of melon soda with my name written on both of them."**_

* * *

_**"So, you've delivered another Sengoku Driver." A man in a black suit spoke out. He had semi-long black hair that reached his jaw, but it was combed neatly so that it didn't get into his eyes. This was Takatora Kureshima, and he was currently speaking to none other than the resident Lock Dealer, Sid.**_

_**"Yeah, I did. I got a few Lockseeds back in the process for the good professor to work on, and am currently awaiting more." Sid spoke with his usual tone.**_

_**"A trade then. In exchange for the Driver and Lockseed, you requested more Lockseeds in return. I take it they are to help in the progress of Project Genesis." Takatora implied. Sid put his hands up in the air and put on a mock-look of surprise.**_

_**"You got me, Director. I was helping in the advance of the new project. However, it's still in the earliest stages until we can distribute the remaining Sengoku Drivers and start obtaining more data on our little "volunteers"." Sid smirked.**_

_**"What's your game, Sid? Usually you wouldn't pull something like this unless there was something to gain from it."**_

_**"Again, you got me. In return for helping to kickstart the Genesis Project, I want to be one of the people who get the finished product."**_

_**Takatora glared at Sid for a moment, staring coldly at the devilish smirk that was glazed onto his face.**_

_**"Just keep handing out Lockseeds, as you were told. I'll consider your proposition, for the time being."**_

_**"Oh, but of course... Director Kureshima."**_

_**"And one more thing, before you go."**_

_**Sid looked back at the director, who was once again glaring at him.**_

_**"Keep an eye on the Sky boy's family. They may work for Yggdrasil, but if they find out how he got a hold of the Sengoku Driver, we may just have to start questioning their loyalties. They were put into a different wing of Yggdrasil for a reason... outsiders can't exactly be trusted right away."**_

_**Sid smirked once more and adjusted his bowler hat before grabbing his tote-chest and walking away.**_

* * *

**(Now: Streets of Zawame City)**

It has been a couple days since Sean's battle with Kaito, ending in his victory. During that time, Sean rested and healed until he was back in peak condition. His parents, busy as they may be, were worried sick about him when he came home that day covered in bandages. He told them it was an accident, fell down some stairs while practicing in the streets and collided with a bike. He hid the Sengoku Driver from them, knowing that they would suspect something was off if they found out about him becoming an Armored Rider.

Luckily for him, they don't pay attention to the Beat Rider Hotline.

So for the past couple days, he went to school with Manny, Taku, and Rin like normal, came home, played with the dog, and ate dinner with his parents before going to bed. He has been excluded from practice until he was healed, and luckily, there were no teams that have tried to challenge them since the incident with Baron.

Now, Wednesday evening, all of Team Holy Flare was walking and talking, getting a few laughs in.

"I'm serious, Doran is able to cram, like, thirty tater tots into his mouth at once!" Sean exclaimed, pointing to his own mouth.

"No way. No one's mouth could contain that much tater." Manny brushed him off, seemingly calling his bluff.

Sean just shrugged. If Manny didn't want to believe him, that was fine. He'd just have to prove him wrong.

Rin just shook her head and sighed. "Boys, always talking about the stupidest things."

"Come on, Rin. Just let them be. It's actually kind of funny to picture, when you think about it." A girl with messy short black hair said. She was wearing the team jacket with a white t-shirt, a yellow skirt, white stockings, and white/yellow sneakers.

"I guess. I swear, Misora, you can be just like them sometimes."

She puffed out her cheeks. "That's because you know Misora Sakurai is a tomboy, and proud of it!" She then scuffled over to Sean and put him in a headlock. "Ain't that right, Armored Rider-kun?"

Sean just chuckled. "Come on, Misora. I just recovered yesterday. You don't want me out of commission if another team challenges us, right?"

Misora just hummed a bit before letting him go. "I guess not, huh?"

"Treat him a bit more gently, Misora." Another girl with dark brown hair going into curls on both sides of her face, wearing the team jacket with a tight yellow shirt, white jeans, and red shoes, said. "It won't do us any good if our leader is injured every other day." She tells her while patting Sean's back.

"Thanks, Saki. But I'm fine." The girl simply smiled softly and stopped what she was doing.

"Okay. But if you're ever hurt again, you can call on Saki Asagaya to heal you back to full health."

"I'll keep that in mind, Saki." Sean said and walked to the head of the group, only to bump into someone. A man to be exact.

He looked to be American, like Sean, but a few years older. He looked at the group and scowled.

"You know, if it had been me you were fighting a couple days ago, you would have lost in a heartbeat."

Sean looked confused, while the rest of his team just looked at him in anger. Even Saki, and she was always one of the cheerier members of Holy Flare.

"I'm sorry?"

"Hey, are you picking a fight with him? Real mature, dude!" Manny called out to him.

The man just scoffed and walked past the group, but not without muttering a few words.

"Stupid arms, stupid legs, and a stupid face."

The group clearly heard him, and they looked mad because of the disrespect the guy was giving them and their leader. Manny rolled up his sleeves and was about to follow the older man, but he was stopped when Sean grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

"He's not worth it. Let's just go and meet up with Team Gaim at their hangout." He let go of his friend's shoulder and continued walking, but the guy's words still sank in. 'What did he mean by that? Arms, legs, and face...'

* * *

**(Team Gaim's garage, one hour later)**

"We're glad you guys could make it."

After their trek through the city, Team Holy Flare made their way to a small, two story brick building with a metal staircase leading to the second floor. To greet them inside, was one of the leading Beat Rider teams, Team Gaim. They've recently climbed up the ladder thanks to a returning member, named Kouta Kazuraba. Also known as Armored Rider Gaim. Among the three current Armored Riders, Kouta has been at it the longest, if only by a week.

Other members of the team included Mai, who was one of the team's best dancers, Mitsuzane (but everyone calls him Micchy), Chucky, Rica, and Rat. Lately, their team leader, Yuya, has gone missing. So Mai has stepped up to the plate as Team Gaim's unofficial leader.

"Thanks for having us. You know, this is actually the first time we've ever met like this." Sean stated as he leaned on the old parked car in the room.

"The reason behind that is because we wanted to talk to you guys about your Armored Rider." Micchy stated in a calm, yet friendly manner. "Now that Gaim, Barron, and Holy Flare all have their own Armored Rider, there will surely be other teams either looking to get their own, or to take them down and enlist the Riders into their teams. And you know that the other day, Kaito and Kouta-san went missing during their race."

Mai then looked down at the floor, as did Micchy as he continued speaking.

"Earlier, Kouta-san's sister called us to their home... and he was in shambles. During the race, he ended up somewhere and fought a new Armored Rider."

Rin raised an eyebrow, while Manny just ate some popcorn that was sitting on the counter in the garage, causing her to glare at him.

"There's a fourth Armored Rider?" Taku inquired.

Mai nodded. "According to Kouta, there is. A white one."

"A white Armored Rider..." Sean muttered to himself.

"And he was willing to fight Kouta-san to the death." Micchy stated.

Everyone in the room, except Mai, looked at him in shock. Manny also choked on his popcorn.

"To... the death?" Rin asked.

"You mean he would have KILLED Kouta if he had the chance?!" Saki gasped.

"That's right... and Kouta shut himself up in his room since he got back." Mai told them. She then walked over to a locker and opened it before grabbing Kouta's Sengoku Driver, Orange, and Pine Lockseeds. "He's so afraid that he said he would never transform again."

"But if that's the case, why don't one of you guys just do it?" Manny asked, after finally regaining air back in his lungs and setting down the popcorn.

To answer his question, Mai put the Driver to her waist, but the belt never formed to secure it.

"The belt only works for the first person to use it. In this case, it's Kouta."

Sean then pulled out his own Sengoku Driver and looked at the device.

"So the reason we asked you here is to strengthen our alliance. We want you help us with the Inves Game." Micchy said, which caught Mai's attention specifically.

"Micchy, I told you that we need to take care of the team by ourselves!"

"But until Kouta-san recovers, we won't stand much of a chance against Baron's alliance with the other teams on our own." He countered.

Taku pulled out a laptop from his bag and pulled up an online forum on the Beat Rider Hotline that was buzzing with constant talk. Some of the more recent posts were actually about Baron's alliance.

"It's true, Baron has already teamed up with Raid Wild and Invitto. And I don't doubt that more teams are on the way."

"So he's already got Jounochi and his groupies, and Hase and his bad boys." Rat concluded.

Sean got up from his position and walked over to Mai, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Look Mai, I understand that you want to protect your team by your own means, but Kaito can still transform into Baron, not to mention he's increasing his numbers for the Inves Game, which has been a much more frequent thing among the teams. We'll help you out until Kouta springs back from this."

"But Kouta-" She tried to argue.

"He's a tough guy. He'll come back and fight using the belt again. And he'll do it when he feels like he's ready. I know you're worried about him, but you don't need to try and baby him." Sean said.

Mai only nodded and walked back to the locker, putting Kouta's belongings away again.

"In the meantime, why don't we go over the video of your fight with Kaito. Maybe if we watch it again, we can analyze some of his moves better." Rin suggested.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea." Sean agreed. "Taku, you mind pulling up the video?"

"Already ahead of you, taichou." With the single click of the mouse, the recording of Sean's battle as Armored Rider Apollo versus Baron started streaming for the group of two Beat Rider teams to watch.

After viewing the video the first minute, there didn't seem like much that they could exploit. That was, until Sean noticed something.

"Taku, stop the video and scroll back ten seconds."

"Did you find something?" He asked.

"Maybe, but not about Kaito... just do it."

"Uh, okay." So Taku paused the video and rewound the previous ten seconds before playing it again.

Sean watched intently this time, making sure that his eyes weren't messing with him. It was during the part of the fight where Kaito knocked him back the first time before he charged at him and slammed his sword down on Kaito's weapon. He noticed a slight movement of his head when he was considering the attack, a shift in his legs right before the charge, his arms twitched right before he swung his blade down for the clash.

If Kaito had been able to notice that during the fight, he would have exploited it and Sean would have lost the fight... he would have lost their stage.

It then donned on Sean about what that guy from earlier had said.

_"Stupid arms, stupid legs, and a stupid face."_

He was giving him hints about this!

"I need to find that guy from earlier." He said, catching the attention of both teams.

"You mean that asshole who insulted you? Why?" Manny asked him.

"He was trying to point something out to me. It wasn't just an insult."

"Who are you talking about?" Mai asked.

"A guy who's older than us, but a little shorter than me. Short black hair that has small bangs just above his eybrows, green eyes, looks American. But I doubt you-"

"Oh, you mean Kyle-san from Charmonts." Mai said.

Everyone from Holy Flare looked at her in shock and confusion.

"You know who we're talking about, and you even know his name?!" Manny jumped from his seat in surprise.

"Wait, isn't Charmonts that sweet shop that's well known for their cakes?" Rin asked?

Sean nodded. "I know the place she's talking about. My mom ordered from them a while ago to celebrate my dad's birthday." He then turned back to Mai. "So his name is Kyle?"

"Yeah, Kyle Howell. He's been working there for the past two years I think."

"Thanks, Mai." With that, Sean bolted out of the garage without another word, leaving everyone else behind as he ran through the streets of Zawame City once again.

* * *

**(Charmonts, 30 minutes later)**

After running through Zawame for the past half an hour, Sean arrived at the popular pastry store, Charmonts.

"Alright, let's see if he's here."

So he walked over to the door of the shop and walked inside. The bell chimed, signaling to everyone that the door had been opened as Sean walked inside the shop.

"Welcome to Charmonts, where we gaurentee an amazing experiance." A voice spoke up as the owner turned from the table he was helping to clean. He was an effeminate and muscular man who wore a black head wrap and hoop earrings, a black tank top, a gold arm band, slacks, and proper shoes. This is Oren Pierre Alfonzo, the owner of Charmonts.

"Oh, hi. I'm looking for someone. Is one of your employees named Kyle Howell?" Sean asked the man.

"Indeed. Do you need to speak to him?"

"If that's alright, then yes." he nodded.

"Of course. What is your name?" Oren asks him.

"I'm Sean Sky." He replied.

"Of course. Pardon moi for a moment."

The eccentric owner bows and walks into the bak of the shop. After a few minutes, Kyle walks out, confused.

"Ah, you must be the guy who wanted to see me. 'Stupid face'. " He notes with amusement. "What's up?"

"I know what you were talking about earlier." He told Kyle, his face serious.

"Oh, and what was I talking about?" Kyle asked, almost in a sarcastic manner.

"When you said 'Stupid arms, stupid legs, and a stupid face'. You were pointing out the subtle movements I unconsciously made during my fight with Kaito." He noted.

"So, you aren't hopeless after all."

"Glad to know you think so highly of someone you just met." Sean remarked sarcastically. Kyle just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah. So why are you here? Feel the need to gloat you figured it out?"

"Why would I gloat about that? No, I came because I was wondering if-"

It was just as he was speaking that another group of people entered the shop.

"Hey, did you hear that the leader from Team Invitto is challenging Team Gaim for their stage?"

"Really? I really hope we get to see more of their Armored Rider!"

Sean widened his eyes and recalled that Kouta had given up his Driver. Invitto isn't known for being the best team, but their leader was a decent strategist when it came to the Inves Game. Did he hear about Kouta going MIA?

"Sorry, but I gotta go!" And he maneuvered around the people who just came in, running back into the streets and towards the stage.

Kyle blinked and decided to follow, telling Oren he was taking his break.

* * *

**(Meanwhile, Eastern Zawame)  
**

Taku and the others had left Team Gaim's garage after Sean bolted. Everyone else went back to the old record shop, but Taku wanted to go somewhere on his own. He always takes the trip to this particular location at least once a week. Twice if he had nothing else to do, plus he liked the conversations. His place of destination...

The Zero Manga shop.

But don't let the name fool you, it's a contradiction. It was a manga shop that had opened up recently, just a month ago actually. And in such a short time, it's become very popular among both new customers and the regulars. Taku was one of those regulars.

When he wasn't with the team, at school, or at home, Taku came by this very shop, which has become his favorite since he stopped in on opening day. The owner was a man named Deion Huffman, an African American man who just seemed to appear one day with the shop. He was a kind man, and funny too. Very pleasant to talk to as well, though his jokes could use a little work.

Taku proceeded to walk inside and was greeted by the shelves and racks, filled with various kinds of manga, candy, and other merchandise like posters, t-shirts, and more. Whenever he was here, he always grabbed what was recommended if he had nothing else to read, or a new issue of one of his favorites. He also sneaked in a snack. What Rin didn't know won't hurt her, or the team.

"Ah, Taku. Good to see you again. You here for this week's issue of JUMP?"

"Uh, Deion-san... where did you get that hat?"

Deion was wearing a green and white striped bucket hat on his head, along with his usual attire of a green t-shirt, blue jeans, and boots.

"Oh, this? I found it in the basement of the shop. I didn't even know I HAD a basement, but it's HUGE. Now I have extra space to store unshelved merchandise." He takes off the hat and tosses it behind him.

Taku just chuckled a bit and looked at the shelf behind Deion, which had multiple Lockseeds stored in glass cases.

A lot of Deion's customers are from Beat Rider teams. And if they're short on cash sometimes, they'll exchange a Lockseed or two to make up for what they owe in difference. Though some of them are higher ranking Lockseeds, some of which Taku has never even seen. And he doubts that some of the other teams have either. Just where did he get them from?

"Eying my collection?" Deion asked knowingly. Taku snapped out of it once he spoke.

"Oh, sorry Deion-san. Since you mentioned it a minute ago, I actually did come for the new JUMP." He said, though he sounded a little disheartened. And Deion took notice of this.

"I figured you were, which is why I already went ahead and got it for you, as well as your usual." He reached under the counter and pulled out the latest copy of JUMP and box of milk candy. "Though... I take it that's not all?"

Taku nodded. He paid for the items and opened the box of candy, unwrapping one of the milk sweets and popping it in his mouth.

"You heard about how Sean became an Armored Rider, right?"

"Yeah, Holy Flare's Armored Rider: Apollo. Right? I heard he was out of commission for a while since he beat Team Baron's leader in his first fight." Deion noted, crossing his arms. Taku swallowed his candy and unwrapped another one.

"That's right. He's been feeling better lately, but I don't know if there's anything I can do to help. He noticed something when we went over the video of his fight and ran off to Charmonts to find someone named Kyle." He looked down slightly.

Deion nodded and scratched his chin for a moment. Then an idea came to him. He reached back onto the shelf behind him and picked up one of the glass cases before picking up the Lockseed inside that depicted a dragonfruit and was labeled "L.S. - 21". He placed the glass case back down on the shelf and handed the Lockseed to Taku. "Here, take it. Free of charge this time."

"Deion-san, I can't take this."

He just chuckled and pat Taku on his head.

"It's on the house. And I have a feeling that you're going to need it sooner or later. So go on, take it."

Taku blinked for a moment, then he nodded and gripped the Lockseed tighter in his hand. He put the box of milk candy in his pocket and held the manga under his arm as he exited the shop.

As he was about to head back to the record shop, he overheard some nearby people.

"Did you hear that Invitto's gonna challenge Team Gaim?"

"What? Do they have a death wish or something? With Gaim's Armored Rider, they don't have a chance."

"Still, it'll be fun to watch. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go now, before we miss it."

Taku was confused. Invitto challenging Gaim? They were right, Jonouchi doesn't stand a chance. Then again, Invitto is part of Baron's alliance. So maybe he might get some high-grade Lockseeds from Kaito.

Instead of thinking about it, Taku decided to follow the others who just left and went to Team Gaim's stage.

* * *

**(Team Gaim's Stage: 10 minutes later)  
**

There was a huge crowd gathered in front of Gaim's stage, as usual. They were doing their dance routine as usual, except for Mai, who was sitting on the sidelines this time and looking at Kouta's Orange Lockseed. The crowd was eating it up too. Everything seemed normal.

Sean arrived on the scene, with Kyle following behind him. He looked around for any sign of Team Invitto, or even just Jonouchi. So far, there was nothing but fans.

The music continued to play and Team Giam continued their routine, ending with a strong finish and making the crowd go wild.

"What? What's wrong, Gaim? I don't see your usual bodyguard around." The crowd fell silent and parted to make way for Team Invitto's leader to make his way through. Hideyasu Jonouchi. And in his hand, he was holding a Lockseed depicting a strawberry, code printed "L.S. - 06".

Sean saw this and he knew that they didn't have the best lucky streak with the Inves game. Mai got on stage and Sean was about to make a move, but Micchy held his arm out and stepped forward.

"Micchy?" Mai stopped in her tracks and looked at him.

He simply flashed her a smile in return, still holding his arm out.

"I've got this, Mai-san." He lowered his arm and looked down at Jonouchi from his position on the stage. "Hideyasu Jonouchi of Team Invitto. You're famous for your cowardly tricks."

He scoffed at Micchy's words. "I prefer the term 'tactics', if you would."

"Did you think you could win just because Kouta-san isn't here?" Micchy asked him, reaching behind his back. "Sorry, but..." He trailed off and pulled out... a blank Sengoku Driver?! This caught everyone's attention, even Sean and Kyle's.

"Don't tell me... you..." Jonouchi trailed off as well, trying to find his words.

"Micchy! That's..." Mai said.

Kyle scoffed and crossed his arms. "Another one? Can't they play their little game without those gizmos?" Sean turned around, just noticing him now. But he turned around and looked back at Mitsuzane.

"Did he get his from Sid too?" He muttered to himself.

Taku arrived on the scene with the people he was following. The two quickly joined the crowd and Taku noticed that Micchy had a Sengoku Driver in his hand.

"Micchy too? That makes him the fifth Rider..."

"We won't be beaten that easily!" Micchy exclaimed. He placed the Driver against his waist, having the yellow belt form and secure the device to his waist. There was a small Chinese tune as well, and the blank faceplate glowed, revealing to now have a green fire-like background with the side view of a green and gold helmet with a rainbow visor.

Jonouchi hardened his gaze and popped the Lock open. Micchy held up his own Lockseed, depicting a bundle of grapes with the code "L.S. - 09", and having three buttons instead of a switch. He popped his Lock open as well.

**BUDOU!**

The orange holographic arena appeared around Micchy as two zipper portals opened. One of them was straight and let out a flying holographic Inves, while the other was circular and lowered down a metallic bundle of purple grapes.

Micchy did a few kung-fu esque slides as the zippers closed and he placed his Lockseed into the Driver and locked it into place.

**LOCK ON!**

Another Chinese-sounding tune sounded and looped for a bit.

"_Henshin!_"

Micchy sliced the Lockseed open, lowering the front and revealing the inside. The grapes also descended onto his head, forming green and black armor with gold accents.

**HAI!**

**BUDOU ARMS!**

**RYU, HOU, HA HA HA!**

The armor unfolded to give him flat shoulder pads, a chest plate made up of multiple purple circles, and a helmet crest with a pony tail and green 'flames' on the side of the helmet, as well as purple eyes. In his hand was a gun with a grape motif molded into the front of the barrel and the side of the weapon.

Jonouchi glared and closed his Lockseed to initiate the fight.

"A new Armored Rider!"

"That makes four now, right?"

"Gaim, Baron, Apollo, and now another Armored Rider for Team Gaim!"

The battle started with the Inves trying to swoop in and swipe at Micchy, but he rolled out of the way and shot at it with his new gun. This continued for a couple minutes before Micchy decided to get serious.

He slashed his belt once, going in for the finisher.

**HAI!**

**BUDOU~ SQUASH!**

Micchy pulled back the hammer of his weapon, charging it up and aiming at the flying Inves. But Jonouchi had another plan. He pulled out another Lockseed that depicted what looked like a cross between a yellow apple and a lemon, code "L.S. - 18", and popped the Lock. This opened another portal above Micchy, who looked up and rolled away as a large stag beetle Inves dropped down from it and landed right where he was a moment ago.

"Micchy, daijobu?!" Mai asked him.

Sean glared at Jonouchi for a moment. Where did he get two A-class Lockseeds? 06 is known among the other teams, but he's never seen 18 before. He definitely came prepared for this.

"I'm okay, Mai-san." Micchy got back up, but dodged another swipe from the flying Inves and narrowly avoided a tackle from the stag beetle Inves. He was doing well before, but now he has to take one of them out if he wants to gain any ground.

"What's wrong, Armored Rider-kun? Can't handle more than one Inves at a time? Remember, there's strength in numbers. Speaking of which..." Jonouchi trailed off and grabbed two more Lockseeds from his pockets. One of them depicted a starfruit, code "L.S. - 15". The other depicted a red pepper, code "L.S. - 26". He proceeded to pop the Locks and two more Inves appeared. One centipede Inves, and one crab Inves.

Sean grit his teeth, "Jonouchi, that snake... he was planning this."

Though, Jonouchi was fumbling with his Lockseeds a bit and he dropped them all to them ground and they scattered. The Inves no longer looked holographic and the arena disappeared. Micchy widened his eyes under his helmet.

_This has happened before, when Kouta-san first used the Pine Lockseed. _He thought to himself.

"Minna, run away! It's not safe anymore!" Mai shouted out to the crowd. They didn't need to be told twice, because all of the civilians fled the scene after the Inves started roaming freely... even Jonouchi. All that remained were Team Gaim, Mitsuzane, Sean, Taku, and Kyle.

"I gotta help Micchy." Sean attached his own Sengoku Driver and pulled out his Lockseed. "_Henshin!_"

**RED APPLE!**

The metallic apple appeared above him from the zipper portal, which Kyle looked at with interest. Though he backed up a bit as Sean placed it in the Driver and quickly slashed it.

**LOCK ON!**

**COME ON!**

The apple descended and fell onto his body, forming the base suit of Apollo and unfolding into the armor and arming him with the Apple Dicer sword.

**RED APPLE ARMS!**

**GUARDIAN OF LIFE!**

With the transformation finished, Sean rushed in and jumped at the crab Inves, slashing it's back to get it's attention away from Micchy.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Sean-san..." Micchy shot at the flying Inves again, clipping one of it's wings.

Sean dodged a swing from the centipede Inves and slashed at it as well.

"You deal with the eye in the sky! We can focus on these guys once we don't have to worry about it swooping down on us anymore!"

"Hai!" Micchy broke away from the group of Inves and shot at the flying one again to get it's attention. Thankfully, it worked and the Inves followed Micchy away from the pack. He continued to shoot while keeping a safe distance from the others. After a bit, the Inves started to get annoyed and made another dive for Micchy.

_Now!_

He slashed his belt once again.

**HAI!**

**BUDOU~ SQUASH!**

Again, he pulled on the hammer of his weapon, a holographic golden spiral wrapped around the gun as purple clusters formed. Mitsuzane aimed carefully and pulled the trigger once the Inves got withing a few feet of him. This unleashed a barrage of machine gun-like blasts in the shape of a dragon head that pelted the monster and it blew up once the attack was finished.

Micchy let out a sigh of relief. But it didn't last long when he saw that Sean was starting to get overwhelmed by the other three Inves. He was locked with the crab Inves and he kicked away the centipede Inves. But the stag beetle was sneaking up on him.

"Sean-san, look out!" Micchy started running and fired at the creeping Inves. He managed to nail it a few times in the chest and sent it staggering back. Sean noticed this and kicked the crab Inves away, giving Micchy a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Micchy."

"Sean!" Taku ran over to him, despite the danger.

"Taku?! What are you doing here?!" He demanded. "There are Inves on the loose, you gotta get out of here!"

"But I brought you this." Taku showed him the Dragonfruit Lockseed that Deion had handed him earlier.

Sean's eyes went wide under his helmet as he looked at it. Taku placed it into his hand and closed his fingers around it.

"Take it. A sword can only do you so much right now."

Sean nodded and remembered from a video of Kouta changing Lockseeds on what to do.

Without closing his current Lockseed, Sean popped the Lock again and removed it from his Driver.

**LOCK OFF...**

He then proceeded to pop the new Lock open.

**DRAGONFRUIT!**

His Red Apple armor and Apple Dicer disappeared as another zipper portal appeared and lowered a metallic dragonfruit above him. He placed the new Lockseed into his Driver and locked it into place like usual.

**LOCK ON!**

The European horn tune sounded again and caught the attention of Team Gaim, Micchy, Kyle, and even the Inves... who stopped attacking as they looked curiously. Sean then slashed it open.

**COME ON!**

**DRAGONFRUIT ARMS!**

The new armor dropped onto his head and unfolded to give him a round chest plate and pointed shoulder pads that stretched out to the sides. His helmet crest looked like flames and his visor's 'eyes' were white with little black speckles. He had large gauntlets that looked like dragonfruits on his hands that ran all the way up to his elbows, though they stop at the wrist to keep his hands free. They look more like giant arm shields than weapons.

**MASTER OF BOOM!**

"Master of Boom, huh? What do I do? Punch things and then they explode?" He flexed his palms a bit and the gauntlets glowed briefly. In the blink of an eye, black spheroids appeared in his hands out of thin air.

"Whoa! So what, I throw them?" He turned and threw the objects at the group of Inves that were standing in the clearing. They exploded on contact and sent the Inves flying back.

Sean smirked under his helmet. "Ooooh, I'm gonna have fun with this. Taku, get everyone else to safety. Things are gonna get a bit 'explosive' around here, if you know what I mean."

"You got it." He went to gather Team Gaim and Kyle, pulling them away from the area.

"Micchy, let's send these exoskeletons packing. What do you say?" Sean asked as he walked next to his fellow Armored Rider.

"Hai, Sean-san." Micchy held his gun at the ready.

With that, the two of them charged in.

Sean went in and started fighting the crab Inves, blocking a swipe from it's claws from the start. He kicked it away and threw a bomb in it's face, knocking it back and charging in for a right hook. The Inves stumbled back, disoriented from the blows. Though it was facing the wrong way and had it's back facing Sean. He took this opportunity to form two more bombs and throw them, connecting with the crab's back and sending it on it's face. A crack formed from the force of the blows, creating an opening.

"Micchy, aim for the back! I'll deal with these two!" He ran over and delivered a flying kick to the back of the stag beetle Inves' head.

"Leave it to me!" Micchy saw the crack in the crab's back and opened fire. The Inves cried out in pain as the onslaught of shots deepened the crack more and more until it shattered and formed a hole, revealing flesh.

He took this opportunity to attack now and slashed his belt once again.

**HAI!**

**BUDOU~ SQUASH!**

And once again, Micchy fired a barrage of blasts in the shape of a dragon head, promptly putting an end to the crab Inves.

Meanwhile, Sean was dealing with the other two Inves. He knocked the stag beetle Inves back, but the centipede Inves kept snaking around his strikes. At this rate, the only thing he was hitting was the air current.

"Dammit, hold still!"

He kept trying to punch and kick at the Inves, but it kept moving fluidly out of the way and slashed back at him, causing sparks to come off his armor.

"Alright, that's it!" He formed another bomb in his hand. "Dodge this!" Then, he threw the bomb at the Inves' feet. The force of the explosion sent it flying back, near the stag beetle Inves, who was still struggling to get up.

"Time for the finisher."

He slashed his belt twice.

**COME ON!**

**DRAGONFRUIT AU LAIT!**

Another bomb formed between his hands and he tossed it up into the air, before jumping up to follow it. When he was a decent height up, he spiked the bomb down hard like a volleyball. The bomb gained a dragonfruit-like aura as it sped down and exploded on the two Inves.

Sean landed as the smoke started to clear, showing that they were no more than dust at this point.

"Now that's what I call an explosive finish." Sean joked and closed the Lockseed on his Driver. His armor disappeared as he did so, and Micchy followed suit.

"This turned out to be more than I expected from Jonouchi. Arigato, Sean-san."

Sean just waved him off.

"Don't mention it. We're friends after all, right? And besides, we promised to help you guys." Sean told him, giving him a small smile.

Micchy nodded and walked over to the four scattered Lockseeds, picking them up one by one.

He walked back over to Sean and handed him two of the Lockseeds. Starfruit, and the one that looked like a cross between a yellow apple and a lemon. While Micchy kept the Ichigo and Pepper Lockseeds.

"Thanks, man." Sean took them with gratitude and put them away safely.

"Let's go meet up with the others. We should discuss what just happened." Micchy explained.

"Yeah, you're right. Something's not right here."

* * *

"AND IT'S FINALLY DONE! CHAPTER 3 OF THE HOLY ARMORED RIDER IS DONE, FOLKS!"

"Now that I've got that out of my system, I apologize for the long wait. I REALLY thought I would have gotten this chapter out before Gaim ended... but shit happens."

"Anyway, thank you so much for being patient with me and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. But now much is left unanswered, and more questions arise. Why does Deion have so many unknown Lockseeds? Who is he, really? Where did Jonouchi get the other Lockseeds instead of just Ichigo? What did Sean want to ask Kyle? All of these questions and more will be answered... sometime. Hopefully during Chapter 4 of The Holy Armored Rider!"

"Remember, please leave a review. And no flames please. Anonymous flames will be deleted, and flames left by those with an account will be responded to in the disclaimer of the next chapter so I can make a fool out of them."

"Now, it's time for the OC Bios and a new segment, the Lockseed List!"

* * *

**Team Holy Flare**

Misora Sakurai

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Occupation: Dancer

Likes: Dancing, Team Holy Flare, hanging with the guys

Dislikes: Girly things, gossip, acting like a "girly girl"

* * *

Saki Asagaya

Age: 17

Gender Female

Occupation: Dancer, medic

Likes: Dancing, helping others, volunteering, small animals

Dislikes: Litterers, bullies, abusers, people who ignore others, people who ignore their own injuries

* * *

**Others**

Kyle Howell (OC of Psycho Sin Mafia, used with permission)

Age: 24

Gender: Male

Occupation: Patissier

Likes: Charmonts, baking, making people happy with his work

Dislikes: Beat Riders, people who don't appreciate food, people who waste food

* * *

Deion Huffman (OC of koolken256, used with permission)

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Occupation: Manga shop owner, Lock Dealer (?)

Likes: Manga, his customers, helping others, bad jokes

Dislikes: Unknown

* * *

**LOCKSEED LIST  
**

Himawari = L.S. - 00: Pretty much everyone

Melon = L.S. - 04: White Armored Rider (Identity Unknown)

Pine = L. S. - 05: Kaito (Formerly), Kouta

Ichigo = L. S. - 06: Kaito (Formerly, given to Jonouchi), Jonouchi (Formerly), Mitsuzane

Orange = L. S. - 07: Kouta

Banana = L.S. - 08: Sid (Formerly), Kaito

Budo = L.S. - 09: Sid (Formerly), Mitsuzane

Starfruit = L.S. - 15: Jonouchi (Formerly), Sean

Red Apple = L.S. - 17: Sid (Formerly), Sean

Mugua = L.S. - 18: Jonouchi (Formerly), Sean

Dragonfruit = L.S. - 21: Deion (Formerly), Taku (Temporarily), Sean

Pepper = L.S. - 26: Jonouchi (Formerly), Mitsuzane


	4. Update Notice

"Hey everybody, Drago3511 here. This is just an update notice for all of my stories, so listen up. Because this actually CONCERNS updates and new stories."

"Now, you all know that I SUCK at keeping deadlines and chapter updates and such. The following reasons are because yes, I do have a ton of stories to manage... with still more to come. But I also have a life. I'm going to be graduating high school soon (hopefully), and I need to look for a job before my parents kick me out of the house. So between that, getting ready for college, my social life, and writer's block from time to time, i have a lot on my plate."

"Okay, so the main point of this is obviously updates. Specifically, the order of said updates. This order may not appeal to you all, but this is what I have decided on. I apologize to anyone for inconveniences concerning any of my stories that happen to be their favorites."

**1\. First chapter of all other Heisei Kamen Rider stories (Yes, Kamen Rider Wolf and Mach Speed Dattebayo! are part of their own series)**

**2\. Starting any un-published Multiverse Chronicles. (I want to get at least the first chapters of every story down because I have a timeline set up. And with that, here comes the list of existing story updates.)**

**3\. The New Uchiha**

**4\. Aqua in Real Life**

**5\. The Chosen Three**

**6\. The Devil May Cry**

**7\. Enter, Gokai Black!**

**8\. Powerful Warriors and A Guild of Legends**

**9\. Soul Liberation**

**10\. Helping the l'Cie**

**11\. XANA's Return (I apologize to fans who loved this story)**

**12\. Wizard's Assitant**

**13\. Powerful Bonds, Powerful Darkness**

**14\. Fenrir's Soul (I apologize here too)**

**15\. U. Marvel Vs. Capcom 3**

**16\. We're going to Duel Academy**

**17\. The Second Boy From Earth**

**18\. Element Pilots, Abductors, and Warriors**

**19\. Waging War**

**20\. Return to the Hidden Leaf**

**21\. Backup Tamers**

**22\. Flame and Thunder Replaced**

**23\. Three New Brawlers**

**24\. All Alternate Chronicles (New stories AND new chapters)**

"Again, I apologize for any inconveniences in updates for fan favorites. But this is the order that I have decided on. ESPECIALLY since I have all but ignored my Multiverse Chronicles."

"I hope you all understand my decision. Well, until next time. Ja ne!"


End file.
